The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Azalea, botanically known as Rhododendron pulchrum×Rhododendron simsii, and hereinafter referred to by the name ‘Oryu’.
The new Azalea is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Tochigi, Japan. The objective of the breeding program is to create new Azalea varieties having unique and attractive flower color.
The new Azalea originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor in June, 1985, in Tochigi, Japan, of an unnamed proprietary selection of Rhododendron pulchrum, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with an unnamed proprietary selection of Rhododendron simsii, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Azalea was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination in a controlled environment in Tochigi, Japan.
Asexual reproduction of the new Azalea by terminal cuttings taken in a controlled environment in Tochigi, Japan has shown that the unique features of this new Azalea are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.